A good day

The middle of the week, and time sure does pass quickly up here in the Grand Nord. I am slowly getting used to having 2 room mates. It takes some scheduling in the kitchen and bathroom, but we are getting along fine. Today I woke up slightly blue, but came out of it as the day went along.
One of the nurses I work with, Sebastien, and his wife, Manon, invited me to dinner tonight. She is also a nurse here at the clinic, but is on maternity leave. My mom would be so proud of me, because I ate Spinach lasagna, and finished my whole plate! It was good, and I had the best tasting garlic bread ever. They were super nice to invite me over. They told me all sorts of interesting information that I will need to know up here in the future. I also saw pictures of the parties from last christmas, and hunting, fishing and camping from this summer. There is actually a lot to do up here is you are interested in joining in.
Francois, the head nurse, called me at 10 pm to ask me if I wanted to come into the cinic for overtime. He was on call and had a child come in for stitches. So, I redressed and walked back to the clinic and did a little sewing. I was a good end to the day. I feel like I am getting comfortable with the team, and am starting to get a feel for the job.
It is weird to "start over". At home, I am a confident, well established person. At work in the ER I feel confident, assured, in charge and at home. Here, it is different. I know nothing. Every case requires me to ask questions, look up answers, and double check my work. It feels time consuming. I wonder how long it will be until I feel at ease here? I have yet another language to learn, as all the nurses here know the basics in Inuktituk, and to communicate with the elders, so will I. Not to mention that i work like a doctor now. My instinct is to evaluate and give care. Now I have to examine and think of a diagnosis, then look up a treatment. Well, that is why I came here, for a different pace of life and a different style of nursing. Lets see where it takes me!

Home Sick

It has been 2 weeks exactly since I have left home. Although it has been an exciting adventure so far, the home sickness has started to settle in. At least I have internet, which allows me to stay in contact with family and frinds. Its mostly at night, when I go to bed, that I start thinking of what I miss at home.

I got 2 room mates yesturday. One is a nurse I had met in the previous village I was in. She is here for 2 weeks to give influenza vaccines to the population........which remindes me.....I need to get one. The other nurse that moved in has been here in Inukjuak for a while. She had moved into a house that had been a target of vandalalism for a while now. She had moved into that house on Saturday, and by Sunday afternoon the teenagers in the village had broken the windows with rocks, and spray painted the house. She could not take it there, so she moved into the transit place with me. Its great to have company, but sharing an apartment with 3 people is hard. And once we are all on the on call list, it will be difficlt to sleep. The phone will be ringing every weekend and 3 out of 5 week nights with patients who want to see the on call nurse. That does not leave many full nights of sleep.

Today was not so busy at the clinic. It was a holiday, and somehow that makes it less busy up north. many people went hunting and fishing since their families were off work and out of school. Its the complete oposite of patients in Montreal.

About Inukjuak

It is the weekend, and besides going for a walk, doing groceries, and reading almost a whole book, I had time to look up information about my new home.

Inukjuak is an inuit settlement located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec. Inukjuak means "the big man" or "the giant". The settlement was established in the early fifties. It has a population of 1294. The principle access is by air, or boat during the summer months, and the principle languages are Inuktitut and English.

It was previously called Harrison post, and was used by the Hudson bay company as a fur trading post from 1936 until 1958. It has been a legally established community since 1980. The nursing station was started in 1947 and the school was built in 1951.